Takashi's Adventures in Hoenn
by Blasty
Summary: Takashi is a Pokemon Trainer who has recently set out on his quest for eight Gym Badges. Will he be able to enter the Pokemon league and become a Pokemon Master while training his rather disobedient Treecko? Rated T for violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

** Hoenn was a great region while it was around. Many seem to have forgotten it now. It was the region in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, the games that either rekindled people's passion for Pokemon or introduced new players to the franchise. The only people who pay it any heed now are the fanboys who are begging for a remake. But why should we forget this wondrous region? We shouldn't, and that is why this fanfiction exists. Enjoy!**

"Marshtomp, use Mud Shot!"

Takashi watched with much interest as his cousins battled with their Pokemon. He was eleven, but did not have a Pokemon yet. His parents did not think that eleven was the appropriate age to own a Pokemon, so Takashi wasn't a Trainer yet. He longed to be, as he was so interested in Pokemon, but for now, all he could do was watch Trainers, as he did not want to violate his parent's policies and become a Trainer himself.

"Come on, Magneton! You got this! Hang in there!"

Yusuke's Marshtomp had landed a super-effective Mud Shot on Megumi's Magneton. Takashi watched with fascination as his cousins continued their battle.

"Marshtomp, use Mud Shot again before Magneton recovers!"

Marshtomp obeyed promptly. The earthy attack had almost collided with Magneton, but good ol' Magneton floated out of the way just in time.

"Way to go, Magneton! Follow up with a SonicBoom!" Megumi commanded.

Magneton used SonicBoom on Marshtomp. Marshtomp was unable to dodge the attack and fainted on contact. Takashi walked up to Megumi and congratulated her on her win.

After this, the three cousins went inside Takashi's for a meal of Farfetch'd with leeks. As they were eating, Takashi's mother announced something that made Takashi's day.

"Takashi."

"Yes, Mother?"

"Your father and I have decided something." his mother replied.

"Cool, what is it?" Takashi inquired curiously.

Takashi's mother glanced at her husband before continuing.

"Well, Takashi, we've decided that you're old enough to become a Trainer. That is, if you would like to."

Takashi's eyes lit up. You could probably feel his joy and excitement in Unova.

"_If I'd like to?_" Takashi trembled with happiness. "You don't even have to ask! I'd _love _to!"

His mother pulled a PokeBall out of her pocket.

"Takashi, this PokeBall contains your partner." she said, looking Takashi in the eye. "Take it." She held the PokeBall out at Takashi.

Without hesitation, Takashi snatched up the PokeBall and pressed the button, excited to see who his partner would be.

"Is it Poochyena? Or Makuhita? Or even Mudkip?" Takashi thought to himself, because his mind was where he could express himself without screaming with excitement.

The PokeBall opened with a magnificent flash. Takashi couldn't make out what the Pokemon was at first, but he knew it was green. It could be a Lotad, an Electrike, a Roselia, a Cacnea, a Kecleon, a Tropius, or even the Pokemon Takashi absolutely _did not _want. Takashi prayed silently that the Pokemon was not a... Treecko. Takashi nearly groaned with disappointment when he saw the one Pokemon he dreaded pop out of the PokeBall.

It _was _Treecko. Why did it have to be Treecko? Why couldn't it have been Mudkip or Torchic? Takashi hated Treeckos more than anything else in the world. He had a reason to.

When he was five, he had ventured out of his town onto a nearby path. He had decided to play in the grass, and made friends with a Zigzagoon that lived there. While playing with the Zigzagoon, he noticed green things moving around in the grass. He had taken a small step closer.

Upon moving towards the green things, he had been ambushed by a horde of Treecko who had stolen all the items Takashi was carrying, including binoculars, a lunch, and his dad's PokeDex that Takashi was borrowing. After this, they proceeded to scratch him and scare away the Zigzagoon. Takashi ran home, crying, with his body covered in blood from the scratches. He had hated Treeckos ever since.

But if Treecko was his only chance to get out on a journey, he would just have to face the facts and live with it. So, he introduced himself to Treecko.

"Hey Treecko, I'm Takashi. I'm going to be your Trainer!" Takashi said gently to his new Pokemon. Treecko proceeded to scratch him in the face, bringing back all of Takashi's old memories.

Takashi pondered what to do. He couldn't give Treecko back to his parents, or he'd never get to go on a journey like he'd always dreamed of. He realized that if he kept Treecko and trained it, it would make him a good Trainer. So, he gathered Treecko, finished his dinner, and went to bed.

The next day, Takashi was ready to set out from his journey. He smashed open his Grumpig bank and collected all of his money. After eating breakfast, he went up to his cousins and asked them a question.

"Would you guys like to come on my journey with me? I'll need some help with Treecko."

"Well, I kinda have some work to do at home, so I'll have to decline." Yusuke replied.

"Takashi, I'll go with you." Megumi said enthusiastically.

"Alright, let's go! See ya, Yusuke!" Takashi hollered.

"See ya, Takashi!" Yusuke watched as he watched his sister and his cousin disappear in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

**When we last left our heroes, they had just departed from Littleroot Town on their journey. Now, they were headed to Oldale Town to buy some Potions from the Mart.**

"C'mon, Treecko, aren't you gonna listen to me?" Takashi pleaded with his new partner.

Treecko wasn't the type of Pokemon to take orders from humans. Rebellious and strong-willed, Treecko was the type of Pokemon that would not even fight an attacker, and instead just sit there calmly. Truthfully, Treecko was a tad lazy.

"Treecko! There are some Poochyena up there! I need you to help me fight them!" Takashi shouted.

"Tree-ko." Treecko sat on the ground, playing with the dirt.

"Treecko, this ain't time for fun and games! You'll become stronger if you help me battle those Poochyena!" Takashi desperately wanted to have a Pokemon battle, and a weak wild Pokemon or two was an excellent place to start.

Treecko climbed into a tree and sat there. Takashi tried to climb the tree, but he couldn't as there were no branches, the trunk was very thick, and the tree was very tall.

"Treecko! Come down now!" Takashi ordered sternly.

"Tree-ko." Treecko responded defiantly.

"Takashi, I got it." Megumi said. "Magneton, I choose you!"

Magneton popped out of its PokeBall.

"What's that gonna do?" Takashi asked.

"Just watch. Magneton, float up to Treecko and zap it out of the tree!" Megumi commanded.

"Mag-net. Mag-ne-ton." Magneton obediently flew into the tree and gave Treecko a shock. Treecko fell into Takashi's arms.

"Hey, what was that for?" Takashi asked angrily.

Megumi shrugged. "You wanted it out of the tree." she said. "So I got it out of the tree."

"You didn't have to do it that way!" Takashi replied. "Aw, forget it. It's over now."

Takashi and Megumi decided that they had better be going to Oldale Town, as they had been on their journey for three hours and hadn't really done anything. So, they collected their Pokemon and set off, only to be interrupted by a pack of Poochyena.

"Treecko, I choose you!" Takashi hurled Treecko's PokeBall at the Poochyena. Treecko popped out.

"Treecko, use Pound!" Treecko insisted on staying rooted to the ground and taking a nap.

Takashi was extremely disappointed with his new green "friend". There was no point in having a Pokemon if it wouldn't do anything for you. But Takashi was going to be as adamant as his Treecko and he knew that Treecko would eventually listen to him.

"Treecko, use Pound!" Treecko didn't move.

"Treecko, I said to use Pound, you lazy worthless crapbag!" Takashi's own words surprised him. He was insulting his own partner. He watched as Treecko looked at him sadly, and ran away.

"Treecko! Come back! I didn't mean it!"

As Takashi ran after Treecko, Megumi was having problems of her own. The Poochyena were beating her Magneton in battle. Megumi knew that if Magneton fainted, the pack would attack her. Great.

"Magneton! Hang in there!" Megumi ordered.

"Mag-ne-ton.." Magneton stuttered weakly.

"Magneton! You've got this! Use Discharge!"

Magneton unleashed its incredible Discharge on the group of Poochyena. Seven of the Poochyena fled in surprise. Four remained. Megumi and Magneton thought that they were going to win the battle, but then one of the Poochyena started to evolve.

"No! What's going on here!" Megumi cried.

"Mag... ne... toooon.." Magneton fainted.

"No! Magneton! You can't faint!" Megumi was about to be mauled by three Poochyena and a Mightyena.

Takashi searched for Treecko, unaware of what was happening to his cousin. He was near tears. For eleven years he had wanted a Pokemon of his own, and when he had finally received one, he had insulted it and it had run away. This was all _clearly _his fault.

"Treecko! Please! Come back! Oh, Treecko!" Takashi sat down with his head in his hands.

He looked up and saw a flock of Taillow. They seemed to be attacking something. As he went closer to have a look, he saw that the victim was Treecko! Takashi scooped up rocks and tossed them at the Taillow. He missed them by at least a yard. He knew that to save Treecko, he was going to have to try a lot harder.

Takashi climbed into a tree and broke off a large branch. He charged at the Taillow using his branch as a sword. The Taillow pecked at him. Grabbing Treecko, Takashi sprinted away from the Taillow as fast as he could. Treecko looked at him with trust.

His face was covered in blood and dirt. Treecko was on the verge of fainting. Takashi rushed into a Pokemon Center to get himself and his Treecko healed. After this, he ate dinner at the Pokemon Center. He made up his mind to spend the night there. But then, he realized he had forgotten something. Megumi.


	3. Chapter 3

**When we left off last chapter, Takashi had just realized that he had lost Megumi. He and Treecko were now desperately searching for her.**

"Treecko, you found anything yet?" Takashi asked.

"Tree-ko." Treecko shook his head.

They had been at it for an hour, yet had found no trace of Megumi. Treecko had started to warm up to Takashi and was a tad more obedient.

Suddenly, Takashi and Treecko were stopped by a tall figure in a yellow costume, splattered with red paint. The letters "DC" were embroidered on his hat in bright red.

"Whaddya fools think yer doin' out here in the woods so late?" the man asked.

"Well, um, we're just, um, looking for my cousin, sir!" Takashi stammered nervously.

"Well, I wouldn't count on findin' her so soon." the man replied.

"Wait, how did you know my cousin was a girl?" Takashi said, shocked.

"Heh, heh, heh." The man kneeled down and stared Takashi in the eyes. "We got 'er, that's how, ya little runt." he said. "Now how about givin' me that lil' lizard ya got there?"

"You can't have Treecko, you kidnapper! Treecko! Use Pound on that man!"

Treecko's hand balled into a fist and went straight into the man's face.

"Ya wanna fight cheap, kid? I'll show ya cheap. C'mon out, Blaziken!"

Treecko jumped into its PokeBall, trembling with fear. Blaziken was a lot bigger than Treecko was, and had the type advantage.

"Treecko! Don't worry! It'll be fine! Come on out!" Takashi commanded. Treecko reluctantly came out of it's PokeBall.

"Alright, Blaziken, go ahead and use Flare Blitz!" the man ordered. Blaziken promptly morphed into a ball of fire and charged at Treecko.

"Treecko, intercept with Quick Attack!" Takashi yelled, knowing that it was a terrible thing to command his Pokemon to charge into a fireball, but not really seeing any other choice.

But Treecko had different plans. Scrambling into a tree, Treecko exerted much of its energy and created a glowing orb. Takashi did not know what the orb was, but Treecko tossed it at Blaziken. Blaziken made contact with the sphere and fell over. Treecko repeated this until Blaziken had fainted.

"What the? Kid, yer Treecko knows Electro Ball! Well, that's incredible! Whaddya say ta givin' me that there Treecko?" the man pleaded.

"Nope, sorry." Takashi replied, amazed that his Treecko knew Electro Ball.

"Well, then, I'll battle you agin for it! Poliwhirl, c'mon out!" the man tossed a PokeBall at the ground and a Poliwhirl popped out.

"Poliwhirl, use Belly Drum!"

"Treecko, use Electro Ball! Quick!" Treecko promptly threw an Electro Ball at Poliwhirl, knocking it out.

The man looked very disappointed as he sent his precious Poliwhirl back into the Pokeball.

"Kid, I really need yer Treecko. I'll trade ya fer it!" The man would not back off until he had his reptilian little 'Mon.

"You tell me where my cousin is, and maybe I'll consider." Takashi really wasn't going to trade his partner anytime soon, but if the man had Megumi, Takashi had to get her back.

"Well, kid, ya don't understand! I can't give ya yer cousin back. My boss has 'er. I can take ya to the boss!" the man replied.

"Your boss? Why would your boss have the person _you_ kidnapped?"

"'Cause I work for team DC." the man answered.

"Team DC? What does that stand for?" Takashi inquired.

"You don't wanna know, kid." the man repllied nervously.

"Tell me, or I'll take your Pokemon." Takashi ordered adamantly.

"Team **D**elicious **C**andy." the man told him, his voice wavering a bit.

"It does not. Tell me what it stands for. Last chance." Takashi bellowed angrily.

"Um..." The man swallowed hard. "Yer not gonna like it. Team **D**e**C**apitation."

"What?" Takashi could not believe what he had just heard. "Does that mean you're gonna decapitate my cousin?"

"Well, yes sir. I'm afraid so." the man replied, sounding guilty. "I weren't supposed to tell ya this, but it's all a trap. They took 'er so that they could take ya too and kill ya both."

"Ugggh!" Takashi vented. "Show me where your base is, or else I take both of your Pokemon."

"Okay." the man said weakly, glancing lustfully at Treecko.

The man led Takashi about a mile and a half further into the woods. Takashi knew where they were going. The woods led to Rustboro City. Takashi thought the forest was called Petalburg Woods, or something similar.

"I want you to take me to your base, not Rustboro!" Takashi yelled.

"But our base _is_ in Rustboro!" the man yelled back just as loud.

"Okay, gee. I'm sorry." Takashi followed the man even more closely than he had been.

About fifteen minutes later, the trio had reached Rustboro City, where the base supposedly was. The man walked into the Pokemon Center's bathroom. As he fiddled with one of the pipes below the sink, a door in the wall opened up, and the three walked through it. After they had passed through, the door slammed shut with a final-sounding echo.

"So this is your base, huh." Takashi marveled at the large diamond pillars.

"Yessir, this here is our base." The man knew his way around, so he led them to the boss' office.

"Well, kid, I wish ya luck. Ya might come out with no head." The man cackled evilly.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up." Takashi smacked the man across the face.

"You do that one more time and I'll show ya child abuse." the man roared angrily. Takashi ignored him and knocked on the boss' door.

The door swung open, but there was no one to be seen near it. Takashi guessed that it was mechanically operated, and walked in. An army of Dusclops statues stood on the sides of the hall that led up to the boss' room. As Takashi stormed angrily up the hall, he heard a voice call his name. Looking at the walls of the rather dimly lit hallway, he realized that cells were lined up against the walls. He heard the voice again. It sounded a lot like Megumi's. Suddenly, he realized it _was_ Megumi's. With Treecko's help, Takashi found the cell.

"Takashi, help me out of here." she whispered. "And don't be loud about it. The guards will hear you."

"Alright." Takashi whispered back. "Treecko, buddy, I need you to use Pound on the cell bars until they break, okay?"

"Tree-ko." Treecko smashed the bars to pieces with his fists.

"Way to go, Treecko." Takashi praised his Pokemon quietly. "Now let's leave before we're seen."

"Takashi, it's not that easy. They have Magneton with them." Megumi said.

"Why do things always have to be so _hard_!?" Takashi roared at the top of his lungs.

The lights in the hallway lit up one by one, but so fast it seemed like they were all lighting up at the same time. Guards rushed through the doors, axes in their hands.

"Whatever happened to being quiet, genius? We're all going to die!" Megumi cried.

"Shhh. You're being loud." Takashi teased.

"Doesn't matter now!" Megumi slapped Takashi across the face. "We've got to run!"

The three of them raced down the hall, but the pursuing guards easily caught up to them. A man, dressed in the same costume that the man Takashi had encountered earlier was wearing, but more majestic, stepped in. "There is no need to wait, gentlemen. Behead them now."

The hallway doors suddenly burst open. "Hey, bros! You can't just go beheadin' them children!" It was the same man Takashi had met in the woods.

The majestic-looking man, who Takashi assumed to be the boss, stepped forward. "_You _don't tell _me _what to do. Is that understood, James?"

James shook his head. "Ya don't tell me what ta do, ya wimp! Ya can't kill children!"

"Well, James, would you like to die?" The boss had an evil look in his pale green eyes.

"Better me than two children." James kicked the boss in the groin. The boss collapsed with pain. All of the guards chased after James, leaving Takashi and Megumi free. As they ran through the hallway, Takashi saw a PokeBall on a pedestal. Megumi took it, knowing that it was Magneton's PokeBall.

Takashi and Megumi ran into the boss' office, found a window, and escaped. They tried to ignore James' screams as the guards beheaded him, but all they could feel inside was guilt.


	4. Chapter 4

**When we last left our heroes, they had just escaped the lair of Team DC, but had paid with the price of a human being. Now, the two are about to challenge the Rustboro City Gym.**

"Wow, I can't wait to battle Roxanne!" Takashi leaped with joy.

"Chill out. I can't find the gym on this map." Megumi gazed over the map that Nurse Joy had given them.

"Chill out? How can you expect me to chill out? I'm about to get my very first Gym Badge! This is something I've dreamed of doing for years!" Takashi sounded more excited with every word.

"Tree-ko." Treecko rolled his eyes.

"Aren't you excited too, Treecko? Aren't you?" Takashi sounded very happy for someone who had just gotten another person decapitated.

"Tree, Tree-ko." Treecko didn't sound very enthusiastic.

"Hey, wait, I found it on the map! It looks like it's about a ten-minute walk from where we are." Megumi said happily.

"Alright! Let's go!" Takashi ran ahead of Megumi, in the wrong direction.

"Other way."

"All right! You lead then."

As the trio walked to the Rustboro City Gym, they encountered a group of children talking about Roxanne.

"Well, I heard that she has another Pokemon after her Geodude." a fat boy told the others.

"No way! That's unfair! Geodude is hard enough." said a little girl with blond hair.

The children made it sound as if Roxanne was really something. Takashi walked up to them.

"I challenge all of you to a battle!" he exclaimed.

"All right!" The fat boy stood up. "You're on! Go, Mudkip!"

"Treecko, I choose you!" Takashi hurled Treecko's PokeBall to the ground with as much toughness in his voice as he could muster.

"Mudkip, use Water Gun!"

"Treecko, dodge and use Absorb!"

Treecko dodged, but didn't use Absorb. Instead, he used Electro Ball, which Mudkip easily dodged.

"Treecko, if you want a second victory, you've gotta listen to me!"

"When was your first victory?" Megumi asked, sounding annoyed.

"You weren't there. Treecko, use Absorb!"

"Mudkip, use Dig!"

Mudkip burrowed under the ground, dodging the Absorb. Treecko looked around anxiously, not knowing where Mudkip was going to pop up. Mudkip suddenly burst out beneath Treecko, causing Treecko to faint.

"Ha. You aren't so tough." the fat boy said calmly.

"I'll have you know that I killed the last man I battled!" Takashi exclaimed. "Except I didn't kill him, someone else did, and I just got him killed, but still!"

"How about you battle me next?" the blond girl asked.

"Sure!" Takashi replied enthusiastically.

"Since you're so weak, I'm practically guaranteed victory this time! Now, run to the Pokemon Center and get your little lizard healed up. My Numel is itching for a battle!" The girl giggled rudely.

"I'll show you a little something when we battle. Trust me." Takashi ran to the Pokemon Center.

Ten minutes later, he and Treecko were ready to battle. So, the battle commenced.

"Treecko, come on out! Let's get our second win!" Treecko popped out of his ball.

"Alright then, Numel, let's get our sixth win!" The girl chuckled at Takashi.

"Treecko, use Electro Ball!" Takashi shouted.

"Numel, take that Electro Ball!" Numel charged head-first into the Electro Ball, and took no damage.

"Wha?" Takashi's jaw dropped open. Numel must be one strong Pokemon to take an attack like Treecko's Electro Ball.

"Numel, Flame Burst!" the girl ordered fiercely. Numel spit out fire as hot as Takashi's face was when Treecko fainted.

"Treecko!" Takashi cried. "Gosh darnit Treecko, whyja have to go and do that? Holy Arceus, you're weak."

"Don't blame your weak little Treecko for your loss." the girl said smugly. "Blame your own darn self. Your fault. You were dumb enough to think that Electro Ball would damage a Ground-type."

"Shut up!" Takashi said angrily. "You hurt Treecko!"

"Injury is a part of Pokemon battles, loser." The girl spit at Takashi and flounced away, followed by most of the other kids in the group.

"Talk about immaturity." Takashi mumbled to himself.

The fat boy walked up to him. "Don't listen to what she says. She can be a big jerk sometimes."

"Sometimes? Really? There are times when she isn't a total jerk?" Takashi asked sarcastically.

"We all have our moments." the boy said. "Are you going to battle Roxanne?"

"I dunno. I just lost two battles to people who lost to Roxanne. I highly doubt I could beat her."

"But you're forgetting a very important factor." the boy replied.

"What's that?" Takashi asked, confused.

"Treecko's got a type advantage against a Rock and Ground-type." the boy answered.

"So does your Mudkip. And we don't know what her second Pokemon is." Takashi retorted.

"True, but you could consider catching another Pokemon. Y'know, one that's stronger than Treecko."

Takashi stood up. "That's exactly what I'm going to do! See you all later!" He ventured out of Rustboro City, taking no one with him but Treecko.


	5. Chapter 5

**When we last left Takashi, he had just set off to catch a new Pokemon, taking only his trusted Treecko with him. **

"Treecko, see anything?" Takashi asked.

"Tree-ko." Treecko shook his head.

Takashi looked in every cave, every tree, and every bush, but there was not a single Pokemon to be found. It seemed rather odd. Takashi looked behind him and found out why the Pokemon had abandoned the place. Several Team DC members patrolled the area, looking for victims to murder.

Treecko decided to be a little cheeky. He picked up a rock and threw it at a Team DC member. Immediately, the Team DC member turned around, looking for whoever threw the rock, in other words, Team DC's next victim.

He caught sight of Takashi. "Hey kid." he said gruffly. "You just screwed with the wrong Team DC Grunt." He charged at Takashi, axe in hand.

Treecko figured he owed Takashi for angering the Grunt, so he launched an Electro Ball at the ground that lay right before the Grunt. The Grunt fell head over heels and his face landed on the blade of his axe. Blood flew everywhere.

Takashi winced. He walked over to the Grunt to see if he was still alive. He wasn't breathing, and with all of the blood streaming out of his face, he would surely die of blood loss. Takashi and Treecko looked sadly at the man, not knowing what to do. This was the second man they'd gotten violently killed.

"What are you doing?" Another Grunt ran over to Takashi. "This kid just killed Bill."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! I mean, Treecko didn't mean to." Takashi whimpered nervously, knowing that his life might end at any given second.

The other Grunt held out his axe. He drew it back, getting ready to strike. Takashi closed his eyes and waited for it all to be over. But suddenly, a Taillow flew by the axe and knocked it out of the Grunt's hand.

The Grunt blew it. He turned into a ball of fury, rage, and obscenities. A third Grunt walked over to him and tried to calm him down, but the Taillow swooped down again and repetitively pecked the third Grunt in the face.

Meanwhile, Takashi and Treecko ran for their lives. "Man, Treecko." Takashi mumbled. "That was one close call."

"Tree-ko." Treecko nodded.

The Taillow followed after them, having pecked the third Grunt's eyes out. Takashi saw the Taillow and thought that it was trying to attack, so he and Treecko ran faster. When they saw that Taillow was not going to back off, they got ready for a fight.

"Alright, Taillow, if you won't stop following us, we're gonna have to battle!" Takashi said with enthusiasm.

"Tail-low." Taillow shook its head.

"Tree-ko?" Treecko seemed to be communicating with the Taillow.

"Tai. Tai-low." Taillow nodded.

"What did it say, Treecko?" Takashi asked. Treecko signified that the Taillow wanted to help them fight against Team DC. "Well sure!" Takashi said excitedly. "We're gonna need help if we wanna get outta here."

Just then, a team of seven Grunts, excluding the dead one and the one with no eyes, raced toward Takashi, Treecko, and Taillow. Treecko got ready to lauch an Electro Ball, and Taillow's beak glowed with the anticipation of Pecking the Grunts.

Three of the Grunts tossed their axes at Takashi, but two of them were blocked by Treecko's Electro Ball. The third one missed Takashi and hit a tree. The remaining four axe-wielding Grunts stayed behind as backup.

Treecko picked up the two axes he had blocked while Takashi yanked the third one out of the tree. Taillow kept the Grunts at bay while Treecko and Takashi loaded up on weapons.

"The kid and his Pokemon are stealing our weapons!" one of the Grunts said. "Let's get the backup. Backup!"

The other four Grunts came. Three of them tossed their axes at Takashi while the fourth decided to do it from close up. The three axes missed Takashi and hit a bush. Two Zigzagoons scrambled out of the bush as the fourth Grunt swung his axe at Takashi, who fought back with his axe.

Treecko launched an Electro Ball at the melee Grunt, who then dropped his axe. Takashi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and chopped off the head of the Grunt. The remaining six Grunts raced back to their base to get more weapons.

"That was close." Takashi sighed with relief. "Well, Treecko, we'd better be going."

"Tail-low." Taillow hopped onto one of Takashi's PokeBalls.

"You want to come along?" Takashi asked happily. "Well, sure!" He captured Taillow and walked back to Rustboro City with a spring in his step. He couldn't wait to show Megumi his new Pokemon.


	6. Chapter 6

**When we last left Takashi, he had just outwitted several Team DC Grunts and captured his very own Taillow. Now, he is headed back to Rustboro City to challenge Roxanne.**

"Hey, Megumi!" Takashi waved as he ran back into the city, spotting his cousin.

"Takashi!" Megumi looked him up and down. "What happened to you?"

"Long story short, I owned some Team DC Grunts and captured a Taillow." Takashi couldn't contain his excitement.

"Cool, let me see!" Megumi said, as she had never seen a Taillow in person.

"Alright, Taillow, come on out!" Taillow popped out of its PokeBall.

"Tai-low!" Taillow strutted around proudly.

"Oh, it's so cool!" Megumi bubbled. "I think you should challenge the Gym now."

"Heck yeah." Takashi said. "Race ya there!"

As the cousins raced to Roxanne's Rock-type Gym, Team DC was devising their evil plan. But we'll hear more about that in the next chapter.

"I win!" Takashi gloated as he slammed his hand on the Gym building.

"No fair!" Megumi said jokingly. "You had a head start!"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go challenge the Gym!" Takashi burst into the doors onto a large stage.

He suddenly saw himself on a huge screen mounted on the wall. "We have another challenger!" a loud voice boomed. The Gym lit up and Takashi could see that a crowd was there to witness the match. He proudly strolled onto the battlefield.

"What's your name?" Roxanne asked, looking at him.

"I'm Takashi from Littleroot Town!" Takashi replied excitedly.

"Well, Takashi from Littleroot Town, let's get this battle started!" Roxanne said with a grin.

"Alright! Taillow, I choose you!" Takashi tossed out Taillow's PokeBall.

"Tail-low!" Taillow soared up to the Gym's ceiling.

"Are you sure you want to use a Flying-type? Flying-types are weak to Rock-type attacks, you know." Roxanne asked.

"I don't need type advantages to win this. I only need the courage to win the battle!" Takashi exclaimed as the crowd cheered.

"Well, okay, Mr. Courage. We'll see how you do. Geodude, come on out!" Roxanne tossed Geodude's PokeBall into the middle of the stadium. Geodude popped out and the crowd roared louder than Takashi thought was possible.

"Geodude, Rock Blast!" Geodude instantly let loose with a string on rocks flying at high speed towards Taillow.

"Taillow, dodge and use Quick Attack!" Taillow followed Takashi's orders, but Quick Attack didn't seem to hurt Geodude too much.

"Geodude, Rock Blast again!" Geodude let its rocks fly again, but Taillow dodged every single one.

"Alright, Taillow, use Quick Attack again!" Taillow dived at Geodude and let its Quick Attack out, but nothing seemed to happen. "Wha?" Takashi was confused. "Why won't Quick Attack do anything?"

"Ho ho ho, Quick Attack isn't very effective on my beloved Geodude, is it, Mr. Courage? Geodude, Stone Edge!" Roxanne commanded fearlessly.

Geodude's rocks flew at Taillow, pointy edges first. Taillow dodged all of them, except one. That one small stone sent Taillow plummeting to the ground.

"Taillow!" Takashi cried. "No!"

But Taillow had not fainted. It was merely beginning to fight. Taillow unleashed a furious Quick Attack, knocking Geodude back at least three yards. In Takashi's eyes, Taillow was getting stronger.

"Geodude! Taillow is putting up a fight! You know what that means, don't you?" Roxanne said with a mischievous grin.

"Ge-oh-dude." Geodude nodded, or at least did the best it could to manage a nod, since its entire body was a head.

"Explosion!" Roxanne bellowed excitedly. Geodude used Explosion. Dust swirled everywhere. When everything became visible again, the audience could see three things. Geodude had fainted. There was a huge crater in the battlefield. Taillow had fainted.

"Alright, Geodude! Nice work!" Roxanne praised her precious boulder and withdrew it.

"Good job, Taillow. You put up one heck of a fight." Takashi withdrew his Taillow.

"Well, audience, do you want to see my special Pokemon? This kid's been the first one in a while to make me send it out!" Roxanne smiled at the audience, ready to get the real show started. The audience screamed so loud that a whole fleet of jet planes couldn't rival the noise.

"Nosepass, come on out!" Roxanne sent her Nosepass out.

"Nosepass, huh? Well, Treecko, I choose you!" Takashi flung Treecko's PokeBall as hard as he possibly could. Treecko jumped out, ready for a fight.

"Nosepass, Rock Slide!" Nosepass let out a barrage of Geodude-sized boulders.

"Treecko, dodge and use Pound!" Treecko smashed its fist into Nosepass. It didn't seem to do any damage at all.

"Well, we're using a lot of Normal-type moves, are we?" Roxanne taunted. "Alright, Nosepass, let's use our own Normal-type move! Lock-On!" Nosepass locked onto Treecko.

"Bah. Lock-On? What kind of a move is that? Treecko! Absorb!" Takashi felt sure that he would win the battle.

Nosepass dodged the Absorb. It knew what to do next. Nosepass spit out a Zap Cannon with enough power to light the entire city. Treecko knew that he was going to have a tough time taking it, but Nosepass _had_ used Lock-On, so there was no dodging it.

"Treecko, use Electro Ball on the Zap Cannon!" Takashi finally spit out. Treecko let out three Electro Balls on the Zap Cannon, but that didn't quite stop it. The Zap Cannon collided with Treecko, but it didn't do as much damage as Roxanne had expected.

"Nosepass! Rock Tomb!"

"Treecko! Pick up two of the rocks!"

Treecko picked up two rocks, not knowing what Takashi wanted him to do with them. Suddenly, he had an idea. He shoved the rocks up Nosepass' nose. Nosepass turned blue, and then fainted.

"Great job Treecko! Even if it was kind of cheap! We got our first Gym Badge!" Takashi high-fived his partner.

"Well, good job, Takashi. I didn't expect you to win!" Roxanne beamed. "Here's your first Gym Badge." She held out a badge to Takashi

"I got the Stone Badge!" Takashi said happily. "Well, now it's your turn to face Roxanne, Megumi."

"Um." Megumi laughed. "I already did while you were gone. Roxanne suggested that we go to the Dewford City Gym next."

"Alright then!" Takashi was overflowing with excitement. "To Dewford City we go!"


End file.
